KM


 * **Week of August 15, 2011 - Mission / Vision Statements**
 * What did I learn?
 * I learned about the Wiki system and how to use the technology. I learned that Wiki is used so that a group of others can work together under this system and communicate more thoroughly. For example, our business class all have wiki accounts that links us all to our teacher and the Hershey Corporation as a part of our class requirements.
 * What did I find interesting?
 * I find it interesting how complex Wiki is. There are so many different possibilities that the system provides. I like how it reminds me of blogging. I also find it interesting how there are ways to access our own profiles and specialize in them.
 * What questions do I still have about what I learned?
 * Is there a tutorial for Wiki?
 * How do you communicate with others on Wiki?

1, This week I learned all about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of different companies. I learned all about the SWOT Analysis and how it effects different companies. Other companies can analyze themselves in order to determine what they could work on. 2. I found everyones SWOT Analysis' very interesting because there was so much stuff I didn't know about several companies. I was very surprised by my own SWOT Analysis, finding out that Victoria Secret's Company is under The Limited Company. I also really enjoyed Mr. Cocco's presentation. 3. The only question I still have is what is Hershey's main strategies when it comes to them assessing their company? How do they plan staying in the number one slot at all times?
 * Week of August 29 - Strategic Planning**

** Week 4: Shareholder Value / Finances **
 * 1) What did I learn in class this week? I learned what an asset and a liability is. An asset is what you own and a liablility is what you owe. I learned about all of the several documents that companies have to be accountable for in order to keep up with their assets and liabilities. Lastly, I learned that the other goal for a company is to make profit.
 * 2) What did I find interesting? I found the quiz we took to be very interesting. I felt like we got a little insight into some things about accounting and finance. I am going to take accounting next year and I'm starting to learn what I'm putting myself into.
 * 3) What questions do I still have about what I learned? One question I still have about the Hershey company is what are some other opportunities that you have that we don't know? I don't really understand everything that I have seen on a balanced sheet. So my question is, could you explain the balance sheet more thoroughly? My question to the Hershey company is how many employees do you have that stay in your finance department?

//Week 6 - Consumer Trends//
 * This class I learned about the various trends that have been sweeping the nation in order to create a better business focus. I learned about the several things that the Hershey Company has began to do in response to this. For example the company has created a specific research team of two people that inquire on the many trends of the year and whether or not the company is actually incorporating these trends in a relatively good way from a marketing stand point. I also learned about the different things that could determine trends such as the environment, technology, or simply your age group. Many companies like Hershey have realized the trend for customization. For example, the speaker this week talked about how people from our age group these days are trying to customize their stuff online to make their product more unique. People feel more attached to a company when they are able to change what they company provides in to just what the actual customers want. I learned this is a very vital thing to incorporate in a company in the future.
 * I found all of the different things that technology is incorporating nowadays to be extremely interesting. The fact that you could actually go online today and customize a chocolate bar to have very detailed decorations, flavors, and so many other type of things in your bar just for you. I think that is absolutely amazing! I also realized that now you can actually go out and use your phone to unlock your car and pay for things with a credit card. It's so crazy and evolutional the things you can do with technology these days. I also found it interesting how our speaker was so laid back and didn't dress like our other typical business speakers. I could really connect with him because I felt like he understands our generation more on a more dynamic level. Overall I learned alot and it was great.


 * Week of October 3, 2011 (Week 7 - Market Research) **
 * 1) I feel like I learned plenty during this week, especially during the Hershey Company's presentation. The company talked about about The Hershey Company's marketing approach for their several different products. I learned that during surveys it is better to make the consumers feel welcome and that you should observe them while they are tasting the product. I also learned that sometimes the person who is giving you a sample might not be the only one who is paying attention to your reaction. There is a whole system as to how the Hershey Company lays out their employees throught the store to observe the consumer. I also learned that you could tell whether a person is lying or not just by their facial expressions. Simply by observing, you could take note of whether or not someone is telling the truth by simple gestures. The Hershey Company is working on training some of their marketing employees in order to be used in the future for potential marketing functions. Lastly, I learned all about Ethnography. Ethnography is essentially the study in which humans are observed to add research to what is known about their culture. In class I said that an example or synonym for ethnography is humanology, which is the study of humans.
 * 2) I have to say the most interesting thing for me was the techniques that the Hershey Company uses in a grocery store in order to have a good marketing perspective. The whole thing is set up like a playing field in which you have a target and you have defenders set up all around in order to engage on the target. I thought this was a great way to show the way they use their marketing. When they told us about how people we given ten dollars just to take a survey I was shocked. I couldn't believe they would pay someone to give them honest answers. It gave me great insight into highly effective marketing. I also found it very interesting how when the company did the sampling in the grocery store, the product had nothing with the word Hershey on it. The Hershey Company wanted the consumers to not have a preconceived perception of what the product should taste like just because it was coming from the Hershey Company. I think this is very smart. When I tried the actual product at the end of class, I realized that it's good they didn't put the Hershey Company's name on it. The healthy snacks weren't at all what I expected. Coming from this company I expected it to be somewhat sweet and in return I got something more fruit based with spices. Overall, I was very impressed by the Hershey Company's stand points.


 * Week of October 10, 2011 (Week 8- Market Analysis) **
 * 1) For me personally, I feel like this was one of the most beneficial presentations we had, as far as being educated on something new. I learned that The Hershey Company goes through a lot in order to enter different markets around the world. I now know that instead of doing the typical research that is done in America, in other coutries, research is collected a little bit different. Instead of handing out polls and letting the consumer fill in the information for you, employees from the Hershey Company actually have to watch the consumer and take notes of what they do. I know this is only one example of a way that they collect research. Next, I learned that sometimes it's not worth it to come in to a market in some countries. Mr. Martin talked about how in Russia there isn't a point for the Hershey Company to come in to the country strong because they have a wide variety of different chocolate that's dedicated to one aisle alone. Instead, the Hershey Company has only placed a small amount of their chocolate onto their shelves. This taught me that you have to be smart in how you enter a market and how you conduct the research on the product because it can change your initial game plan.
 * 2) I really found it interesting when the topic of how much money other countries have to spend as opposed to our country. Before Thursday I never really took in to account that these countries don't spend money on luxury items as much as we do. They usually only have enough money for the major things that keep them alive and there isn't enough money to go around for much else. I liked that Mr. Martin talked about how the wealth of our country is high and how even the poorest of the country is living like kings compared to the poor societies of other countries below us. I also found it interesting when Mr. Martin talked about his trip to Mexico and how he was like a celebrity as he walked around and handed out candy. I thought this was very cute. If a man walked around America and started to randomly hand out candy, our society would question it. Where as, in Mexico it's totally appropriate and no one gives it a side eye. Therefore, I noticed how culture could be very influential in everyone's societies. I really found that interesting the most out of the whole presentation.
 * Week of October 17, 2011 (Week 9- Product Development) **
 * 1) This week I learned a lot about the product development that takes place in a company. From our group lesson I learned alot about the concept development and testing that goes hand in hand with whether or not the company will have a successful product. I learned all about the qualitative and quantitative research that is done for research in order to get the correct numbers for the amount of interest and the actual mindset of the consumers. From Mr. Milici I learned a lot about the other side of Hershey that I don't normally pay attention to. The part of the Hershey Products that don't deal with the candy industry as opposed to just dealing with everyday food consumption. For example, the Hershey Company makes Reese's peanut butter that can be used for a sandwich. This showed me that even though the first thing that pops in your head when you think of Hershey is candy, they still have branched out in to other areas that are beneficial to their company as a whole also. Lastly, I realized that if it weren't for product development you might spend millions of dollars on a product that might never become successful and that is time not well spent.
 * 2) The thing that I found most interesting was how companies can brand themselves by letting other companies use their product as long as their name is on it. The Hershey company, to me, seemed like they do an excellent job with this. Mr. Milici showed how Hershey paired up with companies like Betty Crocker in order to get the Hershey Company's name out there. I liked how the one chocolate milk was not owned by Hershey at all, however the placing of the name and how big it was could lead a consumer to believe that it is chocolate milk created by the Hershey Company. Another thing that I found very interesting was the careers made in product development. I found it funny how one job is to eat all day and try and taste different foods. Mr. Milici said that they eventually had to start spitting the food out after they tasted it because they would begin to gain weight from all of the food consumption. I thought this was so interesting because I think that it would be fun to taste food all day and use funny words like 'horse sweat' in order to describe what I'm consuming.

Week of October 24, 2011 (Week 10- Trial Production)

This week we learned about the trial production that companies conduct before they do mass production. I learned that the Hershey Company has their trial production in their factory on a smaller scale than where they produce thousands of products. I learned that in these factories they conduct research, create new products, and make tons of experiments. My tour guide told us that the Hershey Company patents names even before they have a product to put to the name. The creator of the Hershey Kiss HUGS and KISSES WITH ALMONDS was my tour guide and I learned that having two products like that under your wing is a great victory in his field of work. He said that he has made tons of other products but those are the only two that they have made in mass production from him. I also learned that the scientists that work for Hershey have a lot of room to experiment and try other things. They are able to try to make all different types of new things and go crazy with all of their ideas. Lastly, I learned about W. Deming, a man who dedicated much of his life on the education of production and statistics. This made him a world renound person for his development in the manufacturing field.

The thing I found most interesting about the whole week is the labs that are at the Hershey Company. Most of the reason is because I would like to be a chemist when i grow up. I loved how they had the several different flavors in the viles in one cabinet that the government allows people to use. They also had the ones that aren't approved by the Hershey Company that they could use if they wanted to that might be able to be used in the future. I thought this was interesting because when I think of ingredients I don't really think about the fact that the tastes that we are tasting are coming from viles in liquid form. This threw me off a little bit because I always thought they just took the actual thing like for example, an apple and manipulated it. Lastly, I thought that the kitchens in the Hershey Company were extremely interesting. The woman who we got to view at work seemed like she has such a fun job. All she does is come up with recipes in a kitchen and she can make anything as long as she's using Hershey products. Her food looked amazing! We weren't able to taste test but it was so interesting that there was a job such as hers. Overall, the whole touring experience was interesting.

Week of October 31, 2011 (Week 11- Branding)


 * This week I learned all about the branding process that takes place in a company. When you're branding in your company you have to make sure that it is effective. To have effective branding you have to make sure that your company is being recognized easily by the public in a positive manner. Your branding should show what the company stands for and easily give off what they are trying to portray. I learned that a lot of companies are effective with this even when we as consumers don't even realize it. For example, in class we easily identified with several companies just by the first initial in their company name. This means they are showing effective branding. I also learned about the ways that Hershey makes sure they are doing an effective job is by going out and doing research on how people associate with the company. Maria talked about how the Hershey company realized that 94% of consumers purchase the Hershey Bar to eat their s'mores. This is a way they are associated with a certain kind of snack and the company becomes very profitable off this.
 * I thought the research that the company does is very interesting because it was a little quirky to me at first. The Hershey company went out to peoples houses and watched how they ate their s'mores, what they used for their s'mores, and what they did while they at s'mores. I liked the thought of this because it's really effective research because they are going out and applying their product to real life situations and how the product is actually used. This shows the quality of the Hershey brand and what they do to meet the customer's needs. I also thought that the class could identify with all the brands on the powerpoint with the letters. I thought that this was so interesting because I sure didn't know half of them up there. People were screaming out the names, enthused about the slogans, and happy that they knew the companies. You could tell which brands meant to each individual, just based off of how they responded to each brand name. If it was something like clorox, everyone said the name in a bland tone because it's not that important too them. Whereas, when others mentioned the Reese's brand they yelled it with a smile. Overall, everything was fun and interesting to experience.


 * Week of November 28, 2011 (Week 14- Special Events) **
 * 1) This week in class we learned about the special events that are taken into consideration when trying to promote a product. I learned that the special events should be with anything that has to do with the product that you are trying to promote. For example, the Hershey Company conducted a poll for what are the products/companies that come to mind when associating with basketball games and events and the Hershey Reese's came up as number four. So, for special events the NCAA Basketball events are especially great opportunities for the Hershey Company to promote their products. The Hershey Company also holds promotions around other special events like the holidays. The Hershey Company does a lot of promotion around Valentines Day, Easter, Halloween, and Christmas because that is a time where candy is highly prevalent. Both examples are both great models for how special events can lead a company and their products to be very successful.
 * 2) I thought the marketing and advertising that is put in to special events was extremely interesting because I never thought of how in depth all of the planning was. To me, naming an event seemed so simple until I had to come up with a name for my own event. All different opinions and collaborations have to go into effect in order to make the event be successful and that was very interesting to experience. I learned about a field I was never familiar with. I also found the commercials for the NCAA to be interesting as well. I never seen them before and I thought they were very 'cute' and got the point across. I liked the commercial where the Reese's cup was in the spotlight and was like the 'player' of the game. It drew in my attention and I felt that the Hershey Company did an excellent job with doing that in such a small time increment. Kudos to them!


 * Week of December 5, 2011 (Week 15- Product Safety) **
 * 1) This week our main focus was on recalls and how to deal with them. This week was all about product safety and the Hershey Company. I learned that the Hershey Company has dealt with recalls. They have had little around ten recalls in total and none were massive of any kind. I learned that it takes a really long time to trace where product distribution and creation goes wrong in order to pinpoint the source in which the issue started. I also learned about the FDA and how the standards that I thought they upheld are somewhat true because of their lack of taking charge in critical areas. Our guest speaker talked about how the FDA only goes out and takes a look at at-risk areas only once or twice a year which is extremely scary (in her opinion), so the Hershey Company watches out for this also.
 * 2) Once again, I found the FDA to be extremely interesting. I found this interesting because I recently became a vegetarian because I seen a video about the FDA and how they don't keep up with meat production. It scared me, so I just gave up meat entirely. So hearing someone else talking about how the FDA doesn't keep up with another set of conditions just interests me and makes me feel like I made the right decision by choosing to no longer eat meat. Secondly, I thought that the amount of recalls that the Hershey Company has had is also interesting. But I only think this is interesting because a guest speaker that we had in the past told our class that the Hershey Company has never had a recall before (ever) and to hear that this is not a fact, it definitely caught my attention.

- From the moment I walked in to the Hershey Headquarters I sensed an entirely different atmosphere compared to the factories. Everyone there had to have security clearance and they were extremely well educated and trained. The decorum of the office we were given the presentation in was up with technology and designed well. I think that the powerpoint where we actually got to see some of the experiences and learn in depth about the countries that provide the Hershey Company products were very interesting. My favorite part of the experience was at the end where we got to sit and discuss in one on one groups directly. It felt more informal and at ease and I felt like I could learn better that way. Overall, it was a very beneficial experience.
 * Week #16 - Product Components **

This week I learned about the way that products are wrapped, enclosed, protected, and secured in order to be presented to potential consumers. I learned that packaging is a good way to advertise to the customer because companies have to quickly and effectively get the customers attention and motivate them to buy the product. Lastly, I learned that other companies can sue companies for using similar color schemes against their competitors.
 * (Week 17- Packaging) **

The two most interesting things that I found interesting the customer and consumer statistics and the way that Hershey deals with smaller companies. We were told that on average a person doesn't stay in an aisle more than 59 seconds. We were also told that Hershey constantly deals with small local companies that try to con Hershey products and in return hurt their business. Hershey in return, sues these companies.

This week I learned about forecasting, supply & demand, make to stock, and distribution requirements planning. Forecasting is determining the amount of supply a company needs to manufacture to satisfy the needs of their customers. This is directly linked to the supply and demand. The make to stock is the specific name that incorporates the forecasting and supply and demand. Lastly, I greatly learned how the distribution requires extensive planning to meet requirements because the company has to be accountable and responsible. What did I find interesting? I thought it was interesting how they have a machine to calculate all of their input and output because it is so hard to do it otherwise by hand. I had never thought about how much demand there is in a company that leads them to calculating how much supply they give out. I also didn't know that the Hershey company was a 6 billion dollar company and there largest distribution center is in Plamyra, of their ten that is across the country.
 * (Week 18 Product Planning) **


 * Week of January 16, 2012 (Week 19 - Production) **
 * 1) This week in class I learned about how products are made in a more extensive way. We visited the Reese's plant and I learned all about how it all came about. Apparently, H.B Reese was the founder of the Reese's because he made up the recipe in his kitchen after someone asked him about peanut butter mixed with chocolate. I also learned that Reese's can make up to 25 million cups in a day and 9 million kit kat bars in a day. In order to enter the main production part of the plant you have to make sure you get fully sanitized and put on special equipment.
 * 2) I found it interesting that H.B Reese had 14 children because I couldn't even imagine giving birth that many times. I thought it was interesting because we never learned whether or not Reese had his children after his fortune or before, or why he ever wanted to have so many children. I also found it interesting how off all of us were when guessing how much candy the plant could produce everyday. Our heads were stuck in the thousands, when really the plant could produce millions. It was all very fascinating.


 * Week of January 23, 2012 (Week 20- Warehousing) **
 * 1) From my learning experience I learned that warehousing is more than just storing a product. There has to be organization and strategy in order to make it all work together. I learned that by using a well thought out plan, a company can effectively work toward having a great warehouse facility. For example, the Hershey Company makes sure that they use a system where there is always something for an employee to do in their area or nearby. That way work is continuous and efficient. This gave me great foresight in to why Hershey is so successful.
 * 2) Even though the lecture was long, I thought it was fun because I was learning so much stuff I never knew before. Each slide taught me more and more about warehousing and how rigorous it is to make it all work. The men who spoke definitely kept my attention, easpecially when they talked about their personal life experiences.
 * 3) The only part I thought was boring is when the speakers continued to repeat themselves because it just seemed unecessary. I feel like I liked the first speaker better because he was motivating and always applied the warehousing criteria to life so I felt that is what made the second speaker less appealing to me.
 * 4) I would improve on the field trip we took as a whole. We didn't get to see much of the facility at all and that really bothered me. As an excuse, you could say that we are going to see it in the future, but I still feel like we could have gotten a small preview or something. That is the only thing I'd improve on because overall I enjoyed myself. Thank you!

WEEK 22 Paragraph During the last three weeks we’ve learned all about the “launch” and how to get the products from Hershey to the consumer with warehousing, order management, and distribution. Two themes that I’ve recognized thoroughly throughout these weeks are demand and transportation. Demand is always a major factor when dealing with launching a product. In warehousing, if there is a lot of the same product in stock for a long period of time, chances are there is low demand for it. However, if a product is in high demand it will be constantly on and off of the shelf in a warehouse. For example, Symphony Bars isn’t a top seller from the Hershey Company so it stays in inventory longer during warehousing. Order Management is also directly related to the demand of a product launch. Order management provides exposure for the sales, manufacturing, warehousing, transportation, and financing. When demand increases, the amount of orders for a product increases which involves a lot more planning. Next, distribution uses the intermediaries to go and make sure that based off of the demand, the product is being displayed well so that it fits the customer and the consumer’s needs. For example, if WalMart has a high demand for Hershey Kisses, than the intermediary expert will buy and display the kisses immediately to meet the demand by using effective distribution. Now, dealing with transportation a company can do a great job launching a product. Warehousing deals with the shipping and transportation because it is contributing to the picking and location of the product. Without a warehouse there is no storage for the product which would make nothing to transport. Order Management deals with maximizing the delivery efficiency and the transportation planning. For example, Hershey Kisses need to be transported from Palmyra to Maryland by truck. The Hershey Company is going to make sure that the pallets are configured well and that 4.2 million kisses are in the output. Lastly for transportation, distribution is using the several ways in which the product is taken by transportation methods (rail, air, truck, mail, etc.) That is how demand and transportation is a common theme in launching a product.

WEEK 23 PR In 5 - 7 sentences, describe your impressions of PR and how it differs from advertising. Which method of communication (PR or Advertising) interests you the most? Why?

My instant impression immediately of Public Relations is that it is directly influencing the public in several different ways. I feel that it differs from advertising greatly because advertising is selling a message that the company pays to put out. Anna said that the company knows exactly what they're putting out and they are responsible for all of it. However, Public Relations gives more leverage and allows the audience to run with what is given to them (the message). The method that interested me the most is the public relations because I like social media. I enjoy tumblr and pinterest the most. That being said, I would love to be the person to be running the social media part of the business in order to enlighten the public and stay involved.

My general impression of advertising is that it is a creative way to promote products in order to make everything more successful. I like how there are so many divisions under the advertising section. When David started to speak more thorough about the different divisions, I thought, "Hey, this isn't such a bad field at all to be in." I also liked the creative & media side the most because the company really seems to accept them in. Creatives can have tattoos and be free thinkers and yet hold their own in their career. That is extremely appealing to me. I would honestly consider the creative side of advertising because I am a free thinker and I like to think of stuff that other people aren't doing. I am also an analytical person so I think that I would do well in this field. Thank you for inviting David! I liked him alot.
 * 1. In 5 - 7 sentences, describe your impressions of Advertising. What did you like about it? Would you consider a career in advertising? Why? Why not?**

Topic of the Day / Week: Week 25 - Product Placement
 * 1) What did I do in class today (or this week)? In class this week we played a trivia game where on the powerpoint we had to guess on the answer to the question and stand in a certain place in the room based off of what we thought.
 * 2) What did I learn? We learned about product placement and shelf experience and how it applies to consumers in the real world. I learned that where your product is placed in a store can make or break your company in the end. This is important because brands will pay stores more to have a great display for a product. I also learned that most decisions in the confection aisle are purchased on impulse. This is really true because only 5% of people enter a store knowing that they're going to purchase candy.
 * 3) What did I find interesting? Explain. I thought that the categories that we placed the candy in were very interesting because both groups had similarities and differences. Most of us placed the Mars candy aside in its own category. I thought this was funny because I felt like none of us wanted to insult the Hershey Company by placing them together. Along with this my group had a section of random candy that we thought we would place in the clearance section. This was interesting because who are we to say that a brand isn't worthy of being purchased at original price.
 * 4) What questions do I still have about what I learned?